Word Count: 600-1200 words Assignment: Trace the development of Buddhism through the arts in at least three Asian cultures we have covered in the course. You may choose artistic works from India, Chin

Midterm Research Paper

Aditya Parmar

Professor Jahosky

10/2/2021

Midterm Research Paper

Buddhism arose in the eastern part of ancient India around the 6th century BC. Over many years there have been many movements all around Asia that expanded Buddhism among the regions. Along with the spread of Buddhism, different forms of Buddhist art and culture came with it. When looking at countries like India, China, and Japan, you will see how different Buddhism is.

In India, Buddhism, as mentioned earlier, originated, and it was from here that it spread. This version of Buddhism is the early form, and it takes on a different shape compared to later versions of Buddhism and or culture styles. In the 1st century AD, the human image of buddha dominated the artistic scene. The Gandhara cultural elements from the Hellenistic world combined with the symbolism needed to express Indian Buddhism to create a unique style. Buddha’s hair would be arranged in wavy curls resembling Roman statues, monastic robe covering both shoulders and arranged in heavy classical folds and would be made from stone and stucco to produce such figures. The Head of the Buddha displays shows this style of buddha giving a good look at buddhas curls. A later version of buddha arose in India with buddha displayed with substantial proportions, with serious, unsmiling faces, was clad in robes that created a heavy swag at the hem and revealed the left shoulder. During the Golden Age in India, buddha’s ideal image came into light with Gandharan’s mix and sensuous. This depicts buddha arranged in tiny individual curls, and the robes have a network of strings to suggest drapery folds or are transparent sheaths.

Buddhism arrives in China around the 1st century, and this brought with it’s a new form of Buddhist art, statuary. After the decline of the Jin Dynasty, northern China came under the tuoba-rulled Northern Wei control. This led to the region’s religion becoming Buddhism. The Northern Dynasty had created a more abstract form of representation and is a significant difference compared to the original Buddhist objective of expressing the pure ideal of enlightenment in an accessible and realistic manner. The Yungang Grottoes, located in Shanxi, China, is an example of northern art. Chinese Buddhist art took a little twist during the Tang Dynasty when the Buddhist sculptures evolved towards a markedly lifelike expression. These statues take on a more classical approach, and Indian art’s inspiration is present. During the Qing Dynasty, the third Qing ruler, Qianlong Emperor, commissioned a vast number of religious works in the Tibetan style, depicting buddha in various sacred guises (n.d. 2020). Buddhism in China became one of the richest collections in the world with the massive works of Mogao Caves, Bingling Temple, and Yungang Grottoes.

Buddhism in Japan is not one of the first various cultural influences to originate in the region, but the Neolithic Jōmon was. Japan was one of the last countries to see Buddhism appear, and that Buddhism had appeared in other cultures before Japan, like China, Korea, Central Aisa, and India. Starting in the 7th century AD, Buddhism is adopted into the Japanese culture, and many art forms were a mix of what was listed above. This new art form led to the development of extremely rich figurative art for the pantheon of Buddhist deities, sometimes combined with Hindu and Shinto influences, which can be creative and bold. Buddist art was peaking in Japan between the 8th and 13th centuries, which were the periods of Nara, Heian, and Kamakura. Around the 12th and 13th centuries, Zen art was introduced, bringing with its Zen Buddhism to Japan. Zen art is primarily characterized by original paintings and poetry that strive to express the world’s true essence through impressionistic and unadorned representations. The Asura in Kōfuku-Ji, Nara, and it is an example of traditional Buddhist cosmology.

References

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